As I turned into the long, curving driveway that led into the woods beyond, I gave Becka a sideways glance.
Sometime in the last few seconds, her expression had changed from concern to suspicion. She turned in her seat to face me. "You know something."
"Do I?"
"Definitely. I can tell."
But it wasn't until we reached the nearest clearing and saw the small cabin that she said, "I knew it!" With a happy laugh, she turned to me and said, "You didn't."
I grinned. "Didn't what?"
"Is thisyourcabin?"
In reply, I opened my car door. "Don't move."
"Why not?"
"Just hang on, all right?" And with that, I got out of the car and strode around the front of the vehicle. The air was frigid with the promise of snow, but I felt nothing but warmth as I opened Becka's door and held out my hand. "Let's check it out."
She placed her hand in mine and practically leapt out of the car. "So itisyours?"
"No."
Her smile faltered. "Oh."
"It's ours."
She laughed. "Seriously?"
"On one condition."
"What?"
"Make that two conditions," I said. "First – you've got to help me build a new place."
She glanced toward the cabin. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, the cabin's awful small. Let's call it a guest house."
Her eyes were bright and beautiful with excitement. Laughing, she said, "Okay."
"So we'll need something bigger, right?" I pointed to a cleared spot off in the distance. "I'm thinking right there."
She turned to look, and her breath caught. "It's beautiful."
"Not as beautiful as you." I squeezed her hand. "Becka?"
She turned to face me. "What?"
"The second thing – it's a lot tougher."
"Really?"
"Really," I said. "And you wanna know why?"
"Why?"
"Because…" I said, going down on one knee. "…it'll take a lifetime." I smiled up at her. "So I want you to think long and hard."
